FCC Consumer Complaints – 16 June 2016

Introduction

A total of 1257 consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services were recorded by the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, 16 June 2016, complaint volume fell from 1672 complaints the day before. Reports were received from 47 states and territories, with California recording slightly more complaints than other locations. Complaints relating to Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) were marginally higher than for other issue types.

Key statistics

Total complaints
1257
States & territories reporting
47
Most common issue
Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) (402)
Most reported state/territory
California (155)

Where the complaints came from

On 16 June 2016, the 1257 complaints recorded by the Federal Communications Commission were reported from 797 cities across 47 states and territories. Complaints were relatively evenly spread across states and territories, with no individual location contributing a dominant share. This pattern continues at the city level, where complaints were distributed across multiple locations without a single city standing out.

The distribution of complaints by state and territory is shown below, with locations ranked by the number of reports recorded.

State/Territory Complaints
California 155 12.3%
Florida 130 10.3%
Texas 124 9.9%
Pennsylvania 68 5.4%
New York 66 5.3%
Georgia 51 4.1%
Maryland 48 3.8%
Illinois 47 3.7%
Virginia 38 3.0%
Arizona 37 2.9%
Other states and territories 491 39.1%

What the complaints were about

A total of 6 complaint categories were represented in the complaints recorded on this date. Phone accounted for the largest share, with 866 complaints. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.

Complaint category Complaints Share
Phone 866 68.9%
Internet 239 19.0%
TV 115 9.1%
Radio 32 2.5%
Emergency 4 0.3%
Accessibility 1 0.1%

Phone complaints

866 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 68.9% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) 402 46.4%
Robocalls 227 26.2%
Billing 91 10.5%
Equipment 31 3.6%
Availability (including rural call completion) 27 3.1%
Privacy 27 3.1%
Number Portability (keeping your number if you change providers) 22 2.5%
Junk Faxes 16 1.8%
Cramming (unauthorized charges on your phone bill) 11 1.3%
Interference (including signal jammers) 8 0.9%
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 4 0.5%

Telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing) and Robocalls were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.

Internet complaints

239 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 19.0% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 88 36.8%
Availability 36 15.1%
Billing 35 14.6%
Speed 33 13.8%
Interference 20 8.4%
Privacy 14 5.9%
Equipment 13 5.4%

Complaints in this category covered a range of issues, including Open Internet/Net Neutrality, Availability and Billing.

TV complaints

115 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 9.1% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Billing 54 47.0%
Availability 29 25.2%
Interference 11 9.6%
Equipment 8 7.0%
Indecency 6 5.2%
Loud Commercials 5 4.3%
Open Internet/Net Neutrality 2 1.7%

Billing and Availability were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.

Radio complaints

32 complaints were recorded in this category, representing 2.5% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Interference 19 59.4%
Pirate Radio 6 18.8%
Indecency 3 9.4%
Equipment 2 6.3%
Availability 1 3.1%
Commercials/Promotions 1 3.1%

Interference and Pirate Radio were the main issues reported in this category, while other issues were less common.

Page last updated: 10 December 2018 with FCC complaints data from 16 June 2016.

The information presented on this page is based on consumer complaint data submitted to regulatory authorities. References to telephone numbers reflect reports made by consumers and do not confirm ownership, authenticity, or that the number was genuinely associated with the call. Caller ID information may be inaccurate or subject to spoofing.

Complaint categories, dates and complainant locations are based on the source records and may contain incomplete, approximate or user-entered information. Location details refer to the complainant’s reported location, not the location of the caller or telephone number. This content is provided for informational purposes only.